The board of Liverpool has agreed to sell the club to the US owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team following an extraordinary boardroom wrangle that seems to signal the end of Tom Hicks and George Gillett's turbulent three-year ownership.

In a statement on its website, Liverpool said it had accepted a bid from New England Sports Ventures (NESV), which owns the US baseball team, in defiance of the club's American owners. Hicks and Gillett said this morning that the offer "dramatically undervalued the club" and that they would "resist any attempt" to force the sale through without their agreement.

The move led to an official statement from Liverpool accusing the American duo of opposing the offer because the bid would not give them enough profit for their shares.

This morning the club announced that the sale had gone through. "I am delighted that we have been able to successfully conclude the sale process which has been thorough and extensive," said Broughton.

"The board decided to accept NESV's proposal on the basis that it best met the criteria we set out originally for a suitable new owner. NESV's philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox."

NESV is fronted by the multimillionaire John W Henry. It owns a portfolio of companies including the Boston Red Sox, New England Sports Network, Fenway Sports Group and Rousch Fenway Racing.

Henry controls John W Henry & Company, which describes itself as "an alternative asset manager that is one of the longest established managed futures advisers in the world".

The company was founded in 1982 and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. The Liverpool Echo described Henry as "one of the most popular and powerful men in baseball" who spent substantial amounts improving the Boston Red Sox stadium after taking over the team in 2002.

Broughton said the Liverpool board had met representatives from NESV in Boston, London and Liverpool over several weeks and was "immensely impressed with what they have achieved and with their vision for Liverpool Football Club".

"By removing the burden of acquisition debt this offer allows us to focus on investment in the team," he said. "I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale."

In its official statement last night Liverpool said Hicks and Gillett had attempted to block the bid by removing the managing director, Christian Purslow, and the commercial director, Ian Ayre, and appointing instead Hicks's son and a close ally.

The move would have given Hicks and Gillett a majority on the board and enabled them to reject the NESV offer.

"The board of directors have received two excellent financial offers to buy the club that would repay all its long-term debt," Liverpool said.

"A board meeting was called today to review these bids and approve a sale. Shortly prior to the meeting, the owners – Tom Hicks and George Gillett – sought to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the board, seeking to replace them with Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon.

"This matter is now subject to legal review and a further announcement will be made in due course."

The sale is conditional on Premier League approval. Owners must pass a "fit and proper persons" test, introduced last year, before taking control of a club.